Lord Salvatore De Luca
Lord Salvatore De Luca, is a nobleman, courtier and diplomat in Naples History ﻿Early History Salvatore never wanted to be a knight. He never wanted to charge around and fight off foes with a sword, make them surrender to his will and might. It had always seemed to him that would it not be better to head off conflict before it occurred? To make peace and allies rather than to slay one another’s sons in blood and exacerbate the discord? But let us not get ahead of ourselves here. Salvatore was born the eldest son of a prominent Naples family who had always been supporters of the monarchy and of Naples. Both of his younger brothers were sent off to be trained in the arts of knighthood, but Salvatore remained at home and at Court, fascinated by the intricate inner workings of the palace. His father saw the wisdom in having a son trained at court, and gave the boy what he wanted. His life was a whirling mass of tutors, trainers, and teachers, molding him into the perfect little court gentleman. But it was his interests in politics that would take him farther. He devoured texts on diplomacy and tactics, including battle tactics. Because navigating the stormy waters of royal courts is nothing if not a battle. By the time he was eighteen, Salvatore was fluent in the native language of all of the major European powers, and several of the smaller ones as well. He was trained in all the minutiae of court etiquette, foreign courts as well as domestic, and a flawless head for invisibly directing the lives of the higher ups he worked for. And thus he came to work at Court as a diplomat in training for the Crown. Salvatore easily established a name for himself there, on the basis of his tireless work ethic and ability to remain unembroiled in any kind of scandal. He was sent as a Naplese ambassador to England for two years, and then to France for another two, gaining valuable contacts in both countries as well as working to smooth over any discord that might exist between the countries and his beloved homeland. He returned to Naples rather than another tour as an ambassador when his father passed on, leaving Salvatore the new lord of Notarali. But he had no interest in running an estate, instead appointing a regent to take care of affairs for him so he could do what he did best in the form of remaining in court as one of the diplomats, since he could no longer travel as he needed to remain near his estates. In the ensuing years, Salvatore rose to become the premier and most relied upon diplomat in Court. Life in Court He takes care of them, and ensures that their lives run smoothly. Arranges their internal and international affairs, smoothes over their stumbles and generally makes sure that the Court has a flawless appearance from the outside. Of course, it means he knows every dirty little secret and every flaw the royals have and hide. It’s probably a good thing Salvatore is incorruptible. He’s been doing this job for the past eight years, and to the point where most people barely recognize him as a full and high-ranking lord in his own right, and rather simply as the lackey of the royal family. And up until recently, he didn’t mind. His entire life was consumed by his job. And since he’s good at it, he never minded. He arranged the marriages of his two brothers and two sisters, ensuring they made excellent matches to reflect well on the family name, and set them up for success. But lately he’s been realizing that he’s unsatisfied with his life as it stands. Why should he be at the beck and call of spoiled royals even if his skills are vital to the success of the country? Why should he neglect the commoners he is responsible for? And what about Salvatore? Where’s his happy marriage and kids? This would not do. While he doesn’t slack and doesn’t let his work slide, he’s stopped going above and beyond as much as he used to, instead working to take back the reins on his own estates and maybe, just maybe find a wife he can see himself sharing a life with. If he doesn't get eaten alive for being the current lover of the queen anyway. Personality Salvatore is, in a word, polite. Unfailingly so. All of the time. It doesn’t matter on the situation or the people involved, he will always be pleasant and cordial. It’s what allows him to remain in the shadows and maintain his spotless reputation. Salvatore has that knack about him to be the person in the room you just don’t see. He’s the guy standing unobtrusively behind the throne at formal receptions, the guy hovering just within arm’s length of the queen and other members of the royal family at gatherings, and the guy who’s always running around with arms full of official papers. The guy your eyes just glaze over like he isn’t there because he makes himself that way. It’s really hard to remember for most people that Salvatore is in fact a quite high ranking noble in his own right. He’s just exceedingly good at making his own needs and goals subservient to others’. Salvatore is the type of person you find yourself able to trust with anything. He’s very good at being the shoulder to cry on, the friend to confide in, and the man you tell your darkest secrets because you really just need to get it out there. And he’ll never tell a soul. Maybe subtly manipulate it for the betterment of Italy, but never tell. He has problem with always being able to be there for other people, putting the rest of his own life on hold or stopping what he’s doing in the middle to fix the mistakes of someone else. He often is taken advantage of and trodden on, particularly by the royals who’s life he manages. There are points, of course, where he gets slightly frustrated by it all. He's always willing to listen to everyone else's problems, but he feels ignored when no one wonders if something's bothering him. Taking on the world's problems, on top of your own, could leave anyone slightly stressed at the end of the day. He has a high tolerance for frustration, but has been known to lash out momentarily before apologizing profusely to whoever happened to be caught by his temper. He means well though, because Salvatore honestly does enjoy helping people out. He just gets annoyed when everyone has a tendency to forget about him and take him for granted. And while he might just be a glorified lackey, he’s still a person who is slowly coming to terms with his dissatisfaction in life. Relationships ﻿Queen Isobel Salvatore has found himself as the queen's lover, and to be honest, he's not really sure exactly how that happened. Their affair has been going on and off for about a year and a half, and it's completely secret, not a soul aside from the two of them knows. (He runs her personal life, as the case may be) He doesn't love her, and she doesn't love him, which they both know, but he's more than happy to warm her bed provided it's a secret. Salvatore's not really sure how it's going to play into the whole marriage thing, because he can't exactly extract himself after the marriage without the queen's agreement, and without it he's more likely to lose his job. Not that it's the end of the world because he's a noble after all, but Sal loves what he does. ﻿Lady Catrina Catrina and Salvatore have known one another forever, as she is the Mistress of the Robes and runs the ladies-in-waiting for the queen. (Future wife) Facts *Breeds and trains abruzze mastiffs and italian greyhounds *Speaks English, French, Dutch, German, Russian and Arabic fluently *Well versed in all major courts court manners *Dissatisfied that no one reallized the hard work he does *Or that he's a very affluent and very high ranking noble in his own right Category:Lords